Saying Goodbye With Love & Welcome to Passages New Executive Director!

After a decade of passionate service, our Executive Director Marge Beam is opening a new

chapter in her Book of Life by leaving Passages for a much deserved retirement. Marge had big

shoes for us to fill. We credit Marge’s intellect, vision and leadership for the success of Passages

today. Behind every strong woman is a supporting man and we also appreciate Brian’s assistance

and encouragement. We wish them both many years of fun, good health, adventure, smiles and

time with family.

A Shining Star, Katie Root Hauser, who graduated from Passages and became our Administrative

Assistant, is moving on with a focus on God, her son Jaxson and new opportunities. We thank

Katie for her inspiration and dedication to our program and for being a vital part of our Passages

team. Katie has what it takes to succeed and we expect great things from her.

Welcome to Passages New Executive Director!

We are pleased to announce that after much prayer and an exhaustive search, Melanie Timm has been hired as the new

Executive Director of Passages. Melanie is a devout Christian with a heart for the homeless and a wealth of experience in providing

the leadership and vision to take Passages to the next level. Melanie will begin her position on January 15, 2024. We invite you to stop by

Passages Place and welcome Melanie to our team.

"I'm excited to be joining the team at Passages. I've heard wonderful things about the organization over the years and believe strongly in the mission. I do my best to devote my time and energy to serving God and others. I fell truly blessed to have the opportunity to be able to do both as the new Executive Director of Passages"

Tidbits

Welcome Natana Potter and Katie Root!

We are thrilled that Katie Root (r) and Natana Potter (l) have joined the Passages staff as program assistants. Katie is a graduate of the Passages Program with five years in recovery from addiction. She came back to Passages after working for Bethany Christian Services in which she supported moms in recovery who had newborns. She had a goal of working at Passages someday when she was still in the program herself. Her current position is an example of what God can do in a life when we allow Him in.

Natana started as a volunteer and loved it so much she decided she really wanted to work for Passages! She was also one of the performers at the 2022 Passages Pies Plus event, giving her testimony for the first time. She comes to Passages with a passion for helping other women and a passion for ministry, using her God-given talent of singing and praising God with the Potter Family.

NEED: 12 Passenger Van

We are in the need of a 12-passenger van to transport the women to recovery meetings, appointments and jobs. Please let us know if you can help!

NEED: Board Members for 2023

Is administration your gift? We are looking for more board members to lead Passages into the future! If you are interested, please call Marge at 791-0273, and you will be provided with an application, statement of faith and responsibilities.

NEED: Volunteers

Have you ever thought about volunteering for Passages? We are in the need of coaches and drivers. Please reach out to Katie at 791-0273 to find out more.

Pies Plus Success!

More than 200 people gathered to hear testimonies from Passages women, as well as entertainment and testimonies from Clover, WoAbba and Natana of The Potter Family Ladies Live. It was a wonderful evening of praising the Lord for restored lives and learning about how Passages plays a role in recovery.

Because of YOU, we far exceeded our goal. We raised more than $74,000 in donations and pledges to support operations.

We are so very blessed to have such amazing support from the community. Your donations will make a lasting impact in the lives of Passages’ women and their families.

Passages Place Ribbon-Cutting Held

We are so excited to announce that we were able to move into Passages Place in August of this year! A ribbon-cutting was held October 3 to recognize and say “thank you” to the City of Rapid City (who donated the land), John T. Vucurevich Foundation, Sunshine Lady Foundation, Scull Construction and the many subcontractors who donated labor and/or supplies to the project.

Mayor Steve Allender and Jim Scull both expressed the importance of supporting Passages in this way.

“The mission of this organization is very unique,” said Allender. “The women you’re bringing into this home will have the opportunity to make a new life for themselves.”

In the picture above:

The following individuals were instrumental in the planning and construction of Passages Place and celebrated at a ribbon-cutting on October 3. (l-r) Jake Schluckebier of Scull Construction, President Debbie Moses, Verla Van Etten, Matt Donley of Scull Construction, Jim Scull, Passages Board Member Don Van Etten, Passages Treasurer Denny Kaemingk, Mayor Steve Allender, Bob Westlake, Bryan Mickley of Black Hills Community Bank and Executive Director Marge Beam.

Passages Place Opens Doors

Thank you, KNBN, for this wonderful piece on Passages Place!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2rmHVZjjV4

AAF Black Hills Selects Passages for Public Service Campaign

Passages is the recipient of the 2022 American Advertising Federation of the Black Hills Public Service Project! This is huge for us! The advertising professionals of AAF will develop a 3-5 minute video about our organization that will be used to inform the community and potential donors about what we do and to showcase the success stories of some of the women in our program.

We will be able to use this video for presentations, fundraisers and for public service announcements throughout the community, on our website and social media. We are thankful to AAF Black Hills!

Volunteer Highlights

Betty Lou Hinegardner-Duncan

Betty Lou Hinegardner-Duncan has been a volunteer at Passages for many years. She has done everything from serve on the Program Advisory Committee to coaching women, mentoring, providing transportation, bringing cookies, event help and the all important donating the supply of toilet paper monthly for several years now!

From the big things to the little thing, all are important. We are so very grateful for Betty Lou’s service, heart and prayers for all these years. She has been a constant blessing to Passages even when times were hard in her own life. She kept showing up and serving. Thank you!

2022 Board Members

The board of directors for Passages this year include Chair Debbie Speas, Vice-Chair Renee Eggebraaten, Treasurer Denny Kaemingk and Secretary Linda Matkins, Kathy Simpson, Don Van Etten, Becky Drury and Deb Watson. We have exciting plans ahead!

Progress on Passages Place Continues

The new building is up, and construction continues! As of this writing, we are in the process of getting the painting done on the inside walls. So many faithful contributors have come along side us to complete this project. Completion is tentatively projected for mid-June. We are still working on funding for the final finishings to the house and the furniture. Board member Don Van Etten is busy working on the final touches of planning with the help of Denny Kaemingk. Watch for posting of a registry for household needs coming soon on the Passages Facebook page and at passagesliving.com.

Holidays at Passages

Thanks to South Dakota Chariots of Light Christian Motorcycle Ministry and Living Outreach Church who honored the Passages women with a special dinner on December 5 and provided gifts for the women to go under the Christmas tree in the house.

Holidays are a difficult time for many of the women in the program for many different reasons, such as being without their children, dealing with difficult memories and feelings of loneliness, as well as temptations of relapse, etc… At Passages, we are working to give them new memories. This is a great time of year to experience hope, love, forgiveness and joy that only can be understood through the love of God.

Progress on Passages Place

The weather has been kind, and progress on the building is taking place! The outside walls are up, and the roof is going on! Our Board Chair Don Van Etten is busy working on the final touches of planning. We are all anxiously waiting for the day we can move in! The Passages current house is filling up, and there are women on the waiting list that are also anxiously waiting for the completion of Passages Place. While funds are in place to finish construction, we are still in need of funding for finishing touches and furniture, so please consider giving to this need.

Growth at Passages and Changes for 2022
With Passages Place opening in 2022, we are growing our staff so we can serve up to 14 women.

To prepare, we hired Audrey Randolph as our program director in October. As a social worker, she has counseling experience, as well as facilitating sexual assault support groups. She has worked for a Domestic & Sexual Assault Outreach Center, Wright County Public Health and held the position of adjunct professor for Iowa Central Community College in the Human Services & Early Child Development Department. For the last 11 years, she was the director/instructor for Covenant Christian School.

On January 1, Audrey will take over the program director position full time, and Marge Beam will serve as our executive director going forward. (For the last six years, Marge has served as both the program director and executive director.)

When Passages Place opens, we will also be adding a volunteer coordinator and a second program assistant to be able to serve the additional women that we long to support. It is an exciting time of growth and expansion. We are grateful for God’s guidance and all your support as we tweak our operations and program so that we can continue introducing God’s love to women who are hurting.

Pies Plus was a Huge Success!

For those of you who were able to come to Pies Plus, thank you! The evening was our best one to date. Our main speaker, Annie Iseland Goeble, was very inspiring. We also heard testimonies from three Passages women: one graduate and two currently in the program.

Attendees had fun with the auction of two quilts and the chance to win a centerpiece made by a Passages’ woman. The women also made cloth napkins which were given to each attendee at the event.

The goal for the evening was to raise $40,000 towards operating costs when our new building, Passages Place, opens. Because of YOU, we far exceeded our goal. We raised more than $70,000 in donations and pledges. God is good!

We are so very blessed to have such amazing support from the community. Your donations will make a lasting impact in the lives of Passages’ women and their families.

Groundbreaking Held for Passages Place

Passages Transitional Living has certainly had a busy and eventful summer! On July 1, we were blessed to host a groundbreaking ceremony for Passages Place, and construction has begun at the corner of First Street and Denver Street in Rapid City!

Rapid City Mayor Steve Allender was one of the speakers. He stressed the importance of Passages in the community and the significance of the land that Passages Place is being built on. The land had many years ago been a site of poverty and despair in the community. Soon, it will have a 6,200-square-foot home that will house women who are working to make positive, sustainable changes in their lives.

It is with praise and thanksgiving to God and a sincere gratitude to all who have worked so hard to bring us to this moment. We are all excited about recommitting ourselves to this great project that will serve this community for years to come.

Passages has been blessed by the faithfulness of donors, and we need them now more than ever. With Passages Place becoming a reality sooner than later, we are busy with getting ourselves ready to double our services. We are excited that we are able to provide twice the number of beds soon; however, we want to make sure that we are able to provide quality services to each woman that resides at Passages Place.

We will need to increase our staff, training and recruit more volunteers. To help us achieve our goals, we are planning our fall Pies Plus fundraiser, which will be held on October 30 at 7 pm at Open Bible Church on St Patrick Street. The main speaker will be Annie Goebel who was one of the original women to work on opening Passages. She has an amazing story of overcoming the same type of circumstances as many of the Passages’ women. You will also hear testimonies from those who have stayed at Passages. We look forward to seeing the familiar faces of our loyal supporters and hope to see many new faces in the room as well. Please bring a friend so we can spread the word about Passages and its successes to someone who may not yet know about us.

The Passages house has been at capacity more often in the last few months. Women are doing well, gaining employment and reaching goals. They are definitely focused. We will soon have more graduates from the six-month section of the program.

God is moving in mighty ways! One of our favorite Bible verses at Passages is 2 Cor 5:17-21:

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation: the old is gone, the new has come! God made him who had no sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

If you have not yet had the opportunity to partner with Passages in some way, please consider doing so. Take this opportunity to introduce a woman to God and watch your relationship with Him grow closer as well. Be an example of His love to someone who is hungry and desperate to truly know His love for her. You will be blessed as much as you bless her.

Transitional Living for Women on KNBN

Women whose lives are shattered due to drugs, alcohol or abuse learn to build healthy relationships, stability and structure at Passages.

For six years, Passages’ home environment has provided hope and opportunity for recovery so women can reach their full potential. Residents stay for a minimum of six months. They are taught how to make better life choices with coaching and mentoring then resume building and job hunting and how to sustain a positive lifestyle. The program is giving them the tools to go back into the world and stay the path — independent and confident.

Marge Beam, Director of Passages, says, “The addiction starts along time ago — most of them as teenagers because of trying to numb out what has happened to them. And for the ones who haven’t been abused, there’s been life traumas. Alcohol works and drugs work for a while — until they don’t. And they’ve developed decision making processes and new life styles that are survival mechanisms for them, but that don’t really work at mainstream society.” Read more . .

Nonprofit offers troubled women hope and prayers by the RC Journal

When Jennifer Pate moved from California to Rapid City to be near her daughter, she faced an uncertain future.

“I didn’t know what I was going to do when I got here,” she said. 

Pate said she only had enough money for a plane ticket when she left Yuba City in northern California. She also had a history of drug use that had spanned two decades.

Her first stop in Rapid City was at Working Against Violence, Inc., or WAVI. She stayed there for about a week before learning about Passages Women’s Transitional Living Facility. Read more . . .

Q&A with Marge Beam

Why do we need programs like Passages?

The national rate of people returning to prison in the United states three years after release was reported by BOP in 2017 as 68%. Five years after release, 72% nationally return to prison. The state of South Dakota has remained steady for the last several years at around 43% for women. However, the practice of returning women to prison after relapse has changed so violations of parole have not necessarily reduced, in fact violators increased by 20% (DOC).

What are some of the other facts about incarceration that the public may not know?

South Dakota just a few years ago was 4th in the nation for the number of women going to prison per capita. In the 1980s, the number of women in prison was around 40. In 2019 year-end, there were 521 women in prison. 87% of the females were nonviolent crimes, and over 80% are on mental health medications. 80% of the women in prison have experienced abuse at some point in their lives, most as children.

What works for women’s reentry programs?

Women react differently to drugs and drug addictions. Many of the prisons’ drug and alcohol programs were designed for men and don’t work as well for women. Women react differently to drug use, and their recovery process is very different than men. In South Dakota, they are making progress in the programs they offer while incarcerated. The issue is they are not able to put those new tools to practice while incarcerated. The women need community involvement, new life skills, corrective thinking, new tactics for survival, employment and mental health assistance and mentors. More importantly, they need a new self image and a safe living environment.

Does a spiritual foundation and a Christian program make a difference?

Even the Health and Human Services at the Federal level are offering webinars for how Christian beliefs and spirituality can make a difference in mental health care. Knowing that they are forgiven and can receive grace makes a huge difference in the recovery process. All recovery programs have a spiritual component to them. Accepting Jesus and His unconditional love gives them a whole new outlook on life and the ability to forgive themselves and others. The women we have seen surrender to Christ are the ones that have the most long-term success after graduating from the program.

Do women have to be Christians to enter the Passages program?

When women apply to Passages and are interviewed, we do not ask them about their beliefs or if they are Christians. We do let them know that they are applying to a Christian faith-based program so that they are fully aware that it is a component of the program. We plant seeds and teach them basic Bible knowledge and principles so that they can make their own informed decision regarding becoming a Christian.

The New Normal at Passages

Fall colors are changing fast, and we are all praying other positive changes are coming with them! We are praying that all of you are staying healthy during the COVID-19 pandemic that has changed our world. Passages has been blessed by the faithfulness of donors. Even though we are not able to do our fundraisers in the personal and fun way we did in 2019, we have had some checks come in and messages asking what people can do for us.

COVID has definitely changed the way Passages does business! Even though checks have come in, we are still down by 50% of the donations we typically would receive from doing our fundraising events. In addition, many of our volunteers had to step away from being able to serve us, and we had to limit the traffic coming to and from the house.

Thankfully, the volunteers are trickling back in as we watch and see how the numbers of infected people changes daily. Less volunteer activity means the staff is picking up the work that those volunteers did for us in the past. We made the decision not to hold our Splash of Color 5K run this summer, as there were to many unknowns with reserving the area with Parks and Recreation and how many people would be able to attend with COVID.

We also made the decision to do Passages Pies Plus, our fall signature event, virtually this year. As with everything this year, the event will look a little different, but we will have sweet treats available to donors through Fork Real. We will also have Passages women sharing their uplifting testimonies, plus updates from me and Jim Parry, vice president of the board. A link to the virtual event to view online will be emailed out in October. We hope that you will join us!

The struggles for all of us are real during these unusual times, especially for those struggling with addiction and/or mental health issues. What we at Passages are focusing on in 2020 is that God is still blessing us! Yes, there is a lot going on, but when we get our minds off those issues and focus on what God is doing in our lives and our ministry, He is moving in mighty ways!!

One of our favorite Bible verses at Passages is Jeremiah 29:11-- “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you, not to harm you, plans for hope and a future.” The distractions in the world don’t have to deter God’s plan for us, when we focus on Him and not the storms.

There is still hope in recovery--”My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. “ Psalms 73:26 If you have not yet had the opportunity to partner with Passages in some way, please consider doing so. Take this opportunity to introduce a woman to God and watch your relationship with Him grow closer as well. Be an example of His love to someone who is hungry and desperate to truly know His love for her. You will be blessed as much as you bless her.

Please go to our website www.passagesliving.com for more information about ways to partner and how to contact us. Blessings, Marge Beam, Director